The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1887-01-29

lin of theology"-drawing good deal
of the thunder and lightning out of the
black cloud of Calvinism. Indoctrina-
ted as the followers of DR.. Gill were
with high Calvinism, the amiable and
unpolemic spirit of Fawcett would not
have met congeniality. Jas long as able
to preach he remained pastor of this
church, and died in 1917, and his re-
mains rest in the graveyard adjoining
the chapel at Wainsgatel
From 1908 to 1888, the father of the
writer was pastor of the church at
Wainsgate, when he left. with his fam
lily for Chenango countysNew York, to
labor there.
DR.. Fawcett's salary from the church
probably never exceeded $500. Besides
being writer of hymns, he wrote other
works, an Essay on Anger" etc. A
circumstance will show the stuff Bap-
tist ministers were made of in those
days. George the Third was subject to
fits of anger, and the essay presented
to him by DR.. Fawcett so pleased him,
that the King offered Fawcett promo
tion in the Establishment, as vicar or
rector, with a salary of not less than
$5 900 per year. He courte0usly declined
the generous offer; but he did inter-
cede for person who was under SEN
tence of death for theft. The King
granted his request. Thetalent and en-
ergy of DR.. Fawcett and his son John
soon placed the family in comfortable
circumstances. They Established a
boarding school for boys at Ewood
Hall, about two miles from Hebden
Bridge in the same valley. Though
their school was Yorkshire boarding
school, it was not of the sort of Dothe-
boys Hall School. NoEblunt York
shireman could be found around Ewood
Hall, who had any occasion to "lean
over the table" and look One full in the
face, and say, ,"Weel! mistlier, we've been
vary pleasant together, and allie spak
me moind tiv'ee. Dinnot let the wee
dur send her lattle boy3to yam o'our
schoolmeasthers whise there's harse
to hOOld in a Lunnun, or a goother to
lie asleep in. cannot gang to bed to-
meet and not tell'ee for weedur's sake, to
keep the lattle boy from a. sike scoon-
drels." 1t was not in the spirit of the
author of
"Blest be the tie that Ands,'
OR his son to be schee3ss8 tiers of the
sortso graphically described by Dickens,
The deep valleys, steep, wooded ac-
clivities, scars and crags of that part of
Yorkshire, with its Morse descended
people, rude and blunt almost to cruelty,
who were scattered among the hills and
on the skirts of the bleak moors fifty
years ago, could furnish ample mate
rial for the tourist who had observation
and faculty to fling words together like
Charlotte Bronte and her sisters.
Since [ have alluded to that pecu-
liarly gifted family, let me say that the
old gray sandstone walls of Haworth
parish church stood on the skirts of
these dreary moOrs, about four or five
miles from Wainsgate. What inhu-
ence the dreary solitudes back of the
church and parsonage, coupled with a
father that carried his austere and s5li-
taTy habits and eccentric ideas into
family government, had, in the mold
ing of the geniuses that produced
Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre
cannot be estimated. Still one can
not help but see their surroundings
in their works.
When quite lad often heard old
men tell about Parson Grimshaw,
former rector of Haworth. Believing
that Scripture is of no private inter
pretation," PaTson Grimshaw would
sally out of the church whilst his clerk
was leading in the responses in the read
ing of the services, and with whip in
hand enter the ale house and lash the
old tOpers from their beer-mugs into
the church
l have alluded above to the rudeness
and bluntness of fifty years ago in that
rough, wild part of Yorkshire. But it
often happens that rough shell enclOses
a good kernel. They were not lacking
i'll independence Of thought. In no
part of England had the puritan or
nOncOnformist idea permeated the peO-
pie to a greater extent than among those
hills and dells. Within a circumfer-
ence of nine miles there were eight dis
senting nearly square chapels -cruci-
form architecture looked too much like
Rome-to four Episcopal churches, one
of which was not less than 500 years old.
Within three-fOurths of a mile of
Wainsgate, the celebrated essayist, John
Foster, was born. He was a Baptist,
who dared to leave the old trail of the
ologic thought He dared to say he
could not at the same time believe in
the infinite goodness of God and end
less torment. He was clear-headed
enough to punetuTe the fallacy of finite
man committing an act deserving inf
mite punishment. Finite terms in
proportion with infinite terms, cannot
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